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Whether you are looking for Christmas gift giving or making a special kid in your life happy, think in HOURS not items. By this I mean you should look at the time your child will play with an item as you evaluate whether or not to buy it.
Welcome to homeschooling! I have homeschooled my four and been working with homeschoolers for over 30 years. Here are the Basics to help you get started so you can have a happy homeschooling experience.
Your schooling style will need to fit your family and its needs, but it will also have to meet the requirements of your state and school district. See below for more resources for your specific state! In New York we have to notify the school district within 15 days.
Homeschooling: You Need Some Books
Generally with home schooling, you purchase and teach the subjects your child needs. Whatever you are teaching, please join me on Homeschool Christian Mom group on Facebook for additional support. If you are having difficulty with finding curriculum or other resources, I can help you in that forum.
There are very good boxed all-in-one curriculums out there. I used and recommend BJU Press Homeschool curriculum for all my kids K thru 12. You can do parent led where you teach or purchase the DVD’s or get the same material through the computer. For any of those ways, there are recommendations for grading or they do it for you. I love the BJU curriculum because they have thought of everything. Subjects are well put together, they list tons of extra resources if you need it and all the prep work is done. On day one, you teach lesson one, etc. So the value of that kind of complete curriculum was worth every penny to me. Continue reading “Homeschooling Basics: Getting Started”
Homeschooling Transformation can get your homeschooling back on track!
What if one day you look around and realize that you need to transform your home school or discipline in your household? How can you accomplish needed homeschooling transformation?
If you just need a few ideas to get you on the right track, here’s what worked for us:
The Toys Are Getting Dumped Out All The Time!
For example, what if you realize that your children dump all the toys over and over again all day long and you are sick and tired of the mess? You’ve tried a few things but nothing has worked. What do you do now?
My Homeschool Day IS Starting Later and Later!
Or your children are moving the start time of your home school day later and later in the morning? Take the following steps to start over:
Homeschool Help: FIVE STEPS TO MAKE CHANGES:
ONE: Have a family meeting. Explain that you are going to be changing how you are going to be handling the situation. This is a great time to get Dad involved and show a united front with Mom. (Make sure you and Dad are on the same page with the plan before the meeting! If you are not committed to being consistent and following through, don’t even start. #truth)
Example 1: We are not going to be dumping all the toys on the living room floor every day. We are going to have a new plan that we are putting in place.
Example 2: We are not going to be starting our home school day later and later every morning. It is not working for our family. We are going to have a new plan that we are putting in place.
This is a good time of year to take a break from some of your homeschooling and have a check up about how things are going.
And if they aren’t going well, it’s time to look for the resources and get the help you need so that your homeschooling days do not become a battleground between you and your children.
When your children are little, everything is new and learning is fun!
Writing their name is fun!
Counting is fun!
Drawing is fun!
Science is fun!
Even helping Mommy is fun!
However, as the children get used to the routine of their school days and learn the basics, school is not so much fun anymore.
In fact, it can become a battleground. So what can you do about this?
Stop Homeschooling for a Day or Two.
Look at what is happening so that you can get back to that fun stage.
Oh, I know that learning isn’t all fun and games.
Education is referred to as a discipline for a reason —but there are strategies that you can use to help you capture your children’s imagination and help make their learning meaningful and tolerable again.
Many families use unit studies as a break to freshen up their learning.
What is a Unit Study?
A unit of study focuses on one central theme, e.g. insects. In the unit study, students will learn all about insects by combining multiple subjects into one study. These learning adventures may cover everything from the biology of insects, the history of species, the spelling of scientific names, adding and subtracting favorite bugs, drawing insects! In other words, one topic is studied via various disciplines. What does this mean for your children? Unit studies are a great way to introduce students to real-life experiences and use their natural curiosity to make their learning relevant. (More Information is available from Homeschool.com)
If your home and homeschool really has become a battleground, I recommend using an Action Plan to get back on track. Let’s face it- we all have bad days. This action plan is not for a bad day, but it may help you change a bad pattern of behavior and replace it with the desired action. And sometimes, it just helps you identify and decipher what is really going on with your child. You can read the whole article here.
was featured on the How to Homeschool My Child FB page in November. This is a great art project to encourage some graphic design and gratitude.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Colossians 3:12-15
How has God blessed YOU?
Just for fun, here’s some reels. Click on them to play. I’m on Instagram @the.elizabeth.estelle. Be sure to like and follow while you are there!
Why do I write homeschool blog articles?
Make encouraging phone calls?
Post homeschool tips?
Read Scripture and have a biblical worldview?
This child.
Because there is another generation coming that needs to have the kind of Christian training and excellence in education that only homeschooling offers.
Do you need some extra homeschooling help? Use this link to get on my calendar and let’s chat! Move from being a hesitant homeschool mom to a happy homeschool family.
